Former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Newsweek that Democrats would move to impeach President Donald Trump if they win the House in November, turning the midterms into a direct fight over Trump’s hold on power in Washington.
Ross, a Trump Cabinet member for the full first term, said he has “no doubt” a Democratic House would act and argued that a Democratic Senate would likely make conviction possible.
Highlights
- Wilbur Ross said he has “no doubt” Democrats will impeach Trump if they win the House.
- Ross argued that a Democratic Senate would likely make conviction possible.
- Trump, Mike Johnson and Democratic leaders have all addressed impeachment risks ahead of the midterms.
- Ross said the Iran war and rising gas and food prices could shape the GOP’s midterm chances.
His warning echoed Trump’s January message to House Republicans at a GOP retreat, where Trump said, “You've got to win the midterms... Cause if we don't win the midterms, they'll find a reason to impeach me.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson raised similar concerns
Image credits: Getty Images
Ross framed the November vote as more than a fight over committee gavels or legislative leverage. “For the president, the stakes are extremely high not just in terms of his legislative agenda,” he told Newsweek, according to a June 29 report.
His warning came as Republicans and Democrats have already started talking openly about impeachment, even with voters still months away from casting ballots. Trump himself warned Republicans in January that Democrats would “find a reason” to impeach him if the GOP lost the House.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also raised the risk at a Faith and Freedom Coalition conference, telling lawmakers, “Half of you in this room will be targeted. I run the protection program. I'll take care of you.” His message matched the broader GOP push to cast the midterms as a shield against investigations and impeachment fights.
Image credits: Office of Speaker Mike Johnson / Wikimedia Commons
Democrats, however, have not delivered one unified message. Michigan Rep. Shri Thanedar and Texas Rep. Al Green have already tried to impeach Trump since his return to office. But as recently as March, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said, “Literally no Democrats are talking about this.”
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took a similarly careful line in early June at the CNBC CEO Council Summit. “We haven't ruled anything in; we haven't ruled anything out,” he said, while saying impeachment was not the party’s principal priority five months before the midterms.
Image credits: The White House / Wikimedia Commons
Current forecasts give Democrats favorable odds in both chambers. Race to the White House’s model gives the party a 71 percent chance of securing the House, projecting about 229 Democratic seats compared with 206 for Republicans.
Iran war and inflation are splitting Trump’s political coalition
Ross said the GOP’s midterm fate depends partly on whether voters believe the U.S. won the Iran war and “that the exercise was worthwhile.” He also pointed to inflation, especially rising gas and food prices, as a major test for Trump and Republicans.
That same Iran conflict has created strain inside Trump’s own support base. In a separate Sky News interview with Yalda Hakim, Tucker Carlson said the war was “the end” for Trump politically, adding, “and I said this to him in February.”
Image credits: Gage Skidmore / Flickr
The Iran dispute had already pushed some Democrats toward talk of removal. After Trump warned in April that a “whole civilization will die” if Tehran did not lift its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, dozens of Democrats voiced support for removing him from office either through impeachment or through the Cabinet invoking the 25th Amendment.
Outside Washington, the reaction has split between urgency, skepticism, and fatigue. On Lipstick Alley, one user wrote, “Impeachment and conviction is what I'm voting for in November.”
Another had a different priority: “i don't even care about an impeachment, i just want to see more socialists have sweeping wins and give the people what they need and tax the rich.”
Image credits: Gage Skidmore / Flickr
Others doubted that another impeachment fight would change anything. “Enough with the political theater. They need to stop with the symbolic gestures & actually try & be productive,” one commenter wrote. Another predicted, “He wont be removed from office, they'll pat themselves on the back.”
Conservative media voices have also seized on Ross’s warning. Tim Pool reacted on air by calling it confirmation that Democrats “will absolutely impeach him” and predicted broader “lawfare” against media figures, according to Media Matters.
For now, Ross’s comments give both parties a clear preview of the fall argument. Republicans will warn voters that a Democratic House means impeachment. Democrats will have to decide whether to lean into that fight, avoid it, or keep repeating Jeffries’ careful line: nothing ruled in, nothing ruled out.